The Adjusters, "Armstrong"
The Adjusters were a ska/soul act out of Chicago, who managed a couple albums before the ska scene imploded, but hung around with a couple more albums with much more narrow distribution. They also wore their left politics on their sleeve, and brought a lot of genuine passion to things. This tune comes from their most effective album, Before The Revolution, where their eclectic influences came together well.
Negativland, "Four Fingers"
From (one of) their masterpieces, A Big 10-8 Place, an album that combines found sounds, absurdist humor, a little bit of off-kilter folk, and a geneal atmosphere of confusion pervading the whole thing. It's both gently amusing and disquieting at the same time.
Gaunt, "97th Tear"
Shuffle is strong today! By the time of their fourth album, Bricks and Blackouts, Gaunt was on a serious roll and had found their way onto a major label. They didn't skip a beat, with the higher budget delivering a cleaner recording that allowed Jerry Wick's songs to shine through. There's no bad Gaunt album, but this is as good a place to start as any.
Cloud Nothings, "Story That I Live"
Cloud Nothings, once it became clear that the pandemic was going to keep everybody at home for a while, began creating an album remotely, exchanging tracks with each other to get it put together. Whether intentional or a consequence of the assembly of the album, it's a much mellower record than the previous couple. This is the opener, and is a decent representation.
The Replacements, "Here Comes A Regular"
Fuckin' nailed it today! All right, let's call it there!